Strange Music's Tech N9ne details his appreciation and respect for his "Straight Out the Gate" collaborator, System of a Down's Serj Tankian.

Tech N9ne's collaboration with System of a Down's Serj Tankian may come as a surprise but it's been a longtime coming for the Strange Music emcee. In a recent interview, Tech opened up about how this collaboration came to be and how much he loves System of a Down's music.

"I've always wanted to work with them from back in 2001," Tech told HardknockTV about his love for System. "I finally did this song called 'Straight Out the Gate.' Called my people out here like, 'I need Serj. Let's see if we can find him.' Brother George got the beat to him, got the song to him. Serj recorded it and liked it so much, in New Zealand, I got him on the phone. He said, 'Tech, I never knew your music. I never knew your name. But I went and bought all your music and now you make me run fast on the treadmill' [laughing]. I was like, 'Man, thank you so much. I've been a fan for so long.' He had no idea about Tech N9ne. He said the song prompted him to do it and to get more music and we just shot a video to that mothafucka."

Serj Tankian has released several projects both as a member of System of a Down and as a solo artist. This isn't the first time a Hip Hop collaboration has come about within the group. In 2006, bassist Shavo Odadjian detailed his work with RZA. Iconic Hip Hop producer Rick Rubin found, signed and worked with the band from the late '90s on.